Wrist Tendinitis: PRP or Fusion?

[jon44]

I'm at my wit's end with tendinitis on the pinky side of my wrist. It effects me so that I have little control over my racket head angle during a forehand, but backand and (surpisingly) serves are fine, once I'm warmed up.

I had wrist surgery last fall, by a very well respected surgeon in NYC, who "cleaned up" a ligament tear and associated scar tissue. Both he and another respected wrist guy in Boston say there's nothing more they can do--I just have a wierd (in a bad way) wrist structure and may just be prone to this.

Originally the pain came on switching from a 20 year old widebody racquet to a more modern stiff racket (with "equal" balance). Now I'm playing with a Volkl C10 Pro with natural gut.

So... just wondering if anyone might have gone down the same road. PRP certainly seems like worth trying. Fusion of a few bones in the joint is the only thing the surgeons are offering (but they're not keen on it--not tennis players?). Any shared info would be appreciated.

Jon

 

[RoddickRook]

I'm at my wit's end with tendinitis on the pinky side of my wrist. It effects me so that I have little control over my racket head angle during a forehand, but backand and (surpisingly) serves are fine, once I'm warmed up.

I had wrist surgery last fall, by a very well respected surgeon in NYC, who "cleaned up" a ligament tear and associated scar tissue. Both he and another respected wrist guy in Boston say there's nothing more they can do--I just have a wierd (in a bad way) wrist structure and may just be prone to this.

Originally the pain came on switching from a 20 year old widebody racquet to a more modern stiff racket (with "equal" balance). Now I'm playing with a Volkl C10 Pro with natural gut.

So... just wondering if anyone might have gone down the same road. PRP certainly seems like worth trying. Fusion of a few bones in the joint is the only thing the surgeons are offering (but they're not keen on it--not tennis players?). Any shared info would be appreciated.

Jon

Hey, it's a good thing you asked this. Now, I don't have a wrist problem, but I did have a torn rotator cuff tendon. Currently, I'm getting Prolotherapy done on it, and you should know that PRP is a form of that, except it uses your blood plasma cells (it's basically stem cells) and injects it into that injured area.

You may think I'm some whack job that doesn't know anything, but before you do...take a look at Tiger Woods. He actually got surgery on his knee and had PRP done to it. (Similar to your problem, injury and then PRP). I'm pretty sure it worked for him.

However, from my Prolotherapist, he recommended PRP, Prolo, PRP, Prolo for those who had already undergone surgery.

Hopefully you know what Prolotherapy is and what all of its benefits are. The benefits are amazing. For ligaments, tendons, and cartilage, it heals it! If you don't, feel free to ask me.

But here's the important thing, if you're getting the proper Prolotherapist do this task, nothing can go wrong really. If it doesn't get better, which it should in many cases, it won't get worse. It's not like surgery where if you screw up, that's it, better luck next life. So keep that in mind, because if it doesn't work, you can turn to fusion afterward.

I'm currently getting Prolotherapy myself, and it seems to be working so far. Just need several treatments over a weekly basis.

PRP=Prolotherapy

 

[ab70]

RoddickRook,

Just curious whether you had partially torn rotator cuff or full tear... how many injections did u have already and when did you start to feel the difference. I am recovering from shoulder surgery and have been recommended PRP=plate rich plasma ( more advanced version of prolotherapy) for bicep tendinitis that I developed...

Jon44,

In talking to a numbe of people, PRP and prolo are highly recommended to speed up ligamanent healing. Result do vary from patient to patient and it is hard to predict how one will respond w/o actually trying. There are no known side effects.

 

[RoddickRook]

RoddickRook,

Just curious whether you had partially torn rotator cuff or full tear... how many injections did u have already and when did you start to feel the difference. I am recovering from shoulder surgery and have been recommended PRP=plate rich plasma ( more advanced version of prolotherapy) for bicep tendinitis that I developed...

Jon44,

In talking to a numbe of people, PRP and prolo are highly recommended to speed up ligamanent healing. Result do vary from patient to patient and it is hard to predict how one will respond w/o actually trying. There are no known side effects.

You may have had a worse problem then me if you're being recommended PRP. But to answer your question, I had a partially torn supraspinatus distal tear. After 2 treatments, I feel like its alleviating a little bit. There will definitely be more treatments to be needed, but the average amount of sessions required is usually 5-8.

However, I did get another injury from the MRI I had received. They stuck the needle in some wrong way, I can't explain. But I couldn't hit a backhand for awhile. And after getting Prolotherapy, I can say that the pain went away and won't come back.

If you got off shoulder surgery, I think your safe on taking PRP. Or maybe PRP and Prolotherapy, as my Prolotherapist said is a great idea for those recovering from surgery. I really think you should do it, if the guy giving it to you is good at it, than there should be no worries, and it can only get better. Depending on how well the surgery went, you may only need a few treatments. I think you should try it in my opinion, I know I would. Everyone says PRP and Prolotherapy are the best things, and here I am saying it too.

The results do vary though, depending on one key thing. Your immune system. I'd say if your immune system is healthy than PRP or Prolotherapy will definitely help.

If you want, I can check back in weekly and let you know the results.

 

[masterxfob]

ahh, i get pain in the same area when i play a lot in a short period of time. i'll have problems pronating on my fh, but everything else works fine. i don't really have anything to contribute other than my thanks! i had better be careful or else i might end up with a serious problem like you

 

[Fuzzy]

Jon44,
curious that you bring this up and the way you describe it...i think i just had my wrist scoped for the same reason....mri showed nothing but i had continued pain that finally got so bad i could not hit a forehand...backhand was fine, serve was ok...nothing on the forehand side...i would get a shooting pain up through my pinkie and simply could not use my wrist to hit a ball

so i had it scoped 2 weeks ago, he found a small tear and cleaned/smoothed everything out...i'm another 2 weeks out of rehab and probly 6 weeks out of playing....certainly hope i don't encounter more problems...but your story is not encouraging....

i have not really heard of PRP though nor has it been recommended by surgeon or PT...wonder if I should bring it up as part of rehab before i start hitting again?

 

[jon44]

so i had it scoped 2 weeks ago, he found a small tear and cleaned/smoothed everything out...i'm another 2 weeks out of rehab and probly 6 weeks out of playing....certainly hope i don't encounter more problems...but your story is not encouraging....

Sorry for the bad report. The only advice I can give is that I wish I had taken more time to slowly get back into tennis, after the scope. This is in line with a theory that the soft tissue just needed a lot more time to heal.

I'm not so sure about PRP for this area. I talked to the local (flaky) doctor who does it, and, while she's never used it on a wrist, she thought it might theoretically helpful to inject within the tendon sheath to make it less "sticky." Since I'd have to pay out of pocket, this was a little too loosy-goosy an explanation for my taste.

Jon